So kind of SMS (may I call you Sunday for short?) to invite us around for turkey and crab. What a generous guy! Home delivery oso can right? ;

I think deep frying a turkey would probably terrify me. I don't doubt the results though. What kind of oil do you use?

Since you're clearly culinarily adventurous, have you tried home-smoking stuff? I've only tried it once, and that was at cook school (lapsang souchong smoked halibut (well it was NYC )), but I have visions of hardwood smoked chicken. > Smoked chicken + avocado sandwiches! I know you can buy home smoking kits ....

p.s. For roasting a turkey, last time I did it I cooked the bird upside down. Sounds funky but it means the juices fall towards the crown (rather than fall out of it). Also the crown gets less direct heat, plus the breasts tend to sit in juices in the pan. For the last 15 minutes you flip it over, and turn it up, just to colour and crisp the top. It tends to come out looking a bit 'flattened', but is way way, way more succulent and enjoyable than turkey cooked the usual way up. ... Anyone curious ... maybe try out the technique on a decent chicken and see what you think.

I'm not really into cooking at all, truth be known. I steam crabs because I grew up helping my dad do the same thing. I started deep frying turkeys 40 years ago because I was lazy and hated cooking. Why half a day minding a 6 ~9 kg turkey for 3.5 ~4.75 hours in an oven when I can do the same thing in 25~45 minutes deep frying? You make up your marinade and deep inject the marinade throughout the bird the night before and when it goes into the oil (takes around 3 minutes to get it into the vat of oil) the high temperature instantly creates steam which tries to escape from inside the bird while the oil crisps the skin on the outside thereby creating a seal which keeps all the juices in the bird and the oil out side of the bird. (there is no oiliness in a deep fried turkey at all).

The other benefit is that you are still somewhat sober by the time the turkey is done when deep frying. Roasting allows for too many beers before the bird hits the table!

Oh, for cost reasons, I use canola oil as it has a high flash point and can be used for around 4 birds before it need to be replaced. I prefer sunflower or peanut oil but that make it dangerous for some people who may have nut allergies (which one may not be aware of) and it's both more expensive and doesn't keep well. Canola on the other hand fits the bill best and considering it takes 17 litres of oil, it is a concern. What we do is usually cook two or three birds this time of the year and then use the oil for day to day frying throughout the year (canola oil also does not go rancid either). Then we replace the remaining oil with a new batch for the next Tkanksgiving/Christmas season. Each bird will get progressively darker as the oil darkens that's why we only do three or four birds. Doesn't change the taste at all, but it's visually not as appealing.

Any major grocery chain. NTUC (I picked up a butterball this weekend just past) will be about the cheapest - they had both Butterball and Norbest) NTUC will be the least expensive (but still damned expensive!) Cold Storage will be around 15~20 more for the same birds. You will be able to get bigger birds at Cold Storage though. 5.5kg is about the limit you will find at NTUC as the average oven in Singapore will not comfortably hold anything bigger. If you are lucky enough to have a larger oven (my standalone stove/oven for example) you can get maybe a 7.5 kg bird inside okay but you have to watch it carefully. I don't roast and my deepfry rig is designed for up to a 14 lb bird. any larger will not fit in the bore comfortable. (the narrow bore is to save on the amount of oil needed!). Both Cold Storage and NTUC have pre-orders for fully cooked Turkeys delivered to your home for the Christmas season. Don't know if CS does for Thanksgiving or not.

The bird I got this weekend weighed 5.4kg and cost around $51 if I'm not mistaken. I could probably buy the same bird at home for less than $10 USD. A 1.5 kg rolled boneless Black forest ham will set you back around $45 as well.

Well, as with many groceries I think you need to take into account the product, and the target diners.

Are you having an open-house for 20 people, including 8 children and 5 people who don't eat meat, or a sit down dinner for 4?

What is more appropriate, a thumping Butterball turkey, or a Norfolk Bronze that you had to order 2 months ago.

I rarely find any value in up/over-catering for people. They usually expect chewy old boiled-to-death flank or rump beef rendang? I do it with sirloin or even fillet... no, they do NOT notice. It surprises me really the, lack of recognition of differing quality of ingredients. I can be doing a turkey for 4 hours, taking it out, basting it every 30 minutes, turning it upside down, deglazing the juices for gravy, but the fact is the family would probably be happier with McDonalds.

Some things, sadly, we just do for tradition. Thanksgiving & Christmas dinner are two of them. How do you justify costs on tradition? It's always been a traditional thing for my wife even before we got married (well, Thanksgiving wasn't but Christmas Turkey & Ham were). And sadly, there are never enough leftovers when it comes to my turkeys! Sometimes that why the third bird is done, just so I got plenty of turkey for sandwiches & salads for a little while.

We always have a traditional Christmas. And we always end up having people over for Christmas meal.
Not much turkey leftovers - other than some for sandwiches.
My father-in-law used to love to make boned ham, but its always too salty and its always huge.
I tend to make Christmas food goodies as presents - christmas cakes, chocolate truffles, sometimes chutney and sometimes parmesan biscuits.

Hello all, we are some college students desperately wanting some place to go on Thanksgiving, may we come too? We can bring some sort of food or drink. I know this is last minute, but we would be really grateful to go somewhere for Thanksgiving.

sundaymorningstaple wrote:Yes it is. And yes you can if you are not careful. What you cannot see as it's behind me next to the steamer insert is a 3kg Combat fire extinguisher that is always handy anytime I deepfry. I've never had an accident in 40 years. But videos abound on Utube showing how NOT to do it. AND you never, and I mean NEVER do this inside a carport or in the house. But, once you have tasted a deepfried bird, you'll never go back to roasting.

Yep, I'll be cooking at least two birds, one on turkey day (or two days later this year (Sat) and another on Christmas Day. And if I can find the odd bird or two I might pick 'em up and throw 'em in the freezer for sometime early in the new year. (If any left they are usually on sale (which only means they are 5 x more expensive than home instead of the normal 10x!

Here's what the Steamer rig is good for.......Chesapeake Bay style steamed crabs!